Martin Gore

Record covers helped me discover a lot of music that I wasn't aware of.

I studied German at school. I lived in Berlin for two years and had a German girlfriend for five years, so I don't find speaking German particularly difficult. Singing was slightly more difficult.

I didn't expect us to be around after 25 years.

I'm not particularly prolific.

It creates a conflict of interest - what songs would I use for me, and what would I use for the band.

I will be the focal point for however long I decide to play. Half of me likes that idea and half of me doesn't, but once the adrenaline kicks in, I'll probably really enjoy it.

Anything that I write comes from the soul.

I sit down and create atmospheres, start playing guitar or piano and just sing whatever comes out of my mouth.

Technology is a bit of a double-edged sword. Used right, it's a wonderful tool, but unfortunately, it makes it easier for a lot of mediocre people to get really crappy ideas out.

I lead two totally separate lives. There are times when I have to slip into rock star mode.

The majority of the time I'm at home with my family, I play football three times a week.

I don't write poems and put them to music. Just let things flow.

I tend to like songs that are very emotional, that strike a chord with me emotionally.

There are definite reference points to older Depeche Mode records.

I like their darkness but I also like the pop-side of the Velvet Underground.

When people meet me I think they're surprised to find out I'm not always angst-ridden.

It was so exciting to go to the record shop and buy a piece of vinyl and hold it, read the liner notes, look at the pictures. Even the smell of the vinyl.

I wasn't ever a massive David Essex fan, but I liked a few of his tracks, and Stardust was one of them.

If you took music out of my life, I don't know what I'd do. It's the one thing that I have a real passion for.

Kids today don't know that much about vinyl.

There haven't been many credible electronic covers records.

As part of Depeche Mode, I don't think it's right for me to be using my own songs for a solo project. I'm not a very prolific songwriter, so I keep those for Depeche Mode.

Once I'd chosen the songs, it seemed like it would just be a question then of recording them. But it's a case of trying to re-invent the songs; taking them in different directions.

Music is really all about experimentation and lots of trial and error. It's just mind-numbingly boring until you hit on something that works well.

I didn't write songs for a very long time.

I do a cover of a Velvet Underground song, and they were one of the most important bands, for me.

When I write a song, I always start on acoustic guitar, because that's a good test of a song, when it's really open and bare. You can often mislead yourself if you start with computers and samples and programming because you can disguise a bad song.

Our music over the years has been very cinematic. It's surprising we never really got into film soundtracks.

I always hate explaining away songs, because for me they mean something, and for other people, they'll mean something absolutely different.

I even have nephews who make music, my daughter makes music. I don't know what advice to give them these days. It's really a tough industry to break into.

People are People still gets played to death on '80s stations. It was our first big break in America. It's not exactly my favorite song.